The 2008 Bend Event

On April 11, The Alpinist Film Festival hit the road for the first time ever, traveling out to Bend, Oregon, and the immaculate Tower Theatre for a presentation of some of the best films in the outdoor world. Many of the master festival's signature components--a DJ spinning tunes, a cocktail hour featuring New Belgium beer to get the crowd in the mood, a silent auction to benefit SurfAid International and a carbon-neutral event courtesy of The North Face--were in place, and the crowd responded with enthusiasm. We served up many of the People's Choice award-winning films from January's master festival--films like Mountain Town: The Grasshopper, Peter Mortimer's Diamonds Are Forever, the Grand Prize winner Sliding Liberia (presented by none other than Mr. Pipeline himself, Gerry Lopez) and the second US screening of The Beckoning Silence. We raised another $1,600 for SurfAid International and had a hell of a good time, as evidenced by these photos by talented local photographer Byron Roe. Like what you see? Check back often: we're plotting out other 2008 destinations as you read this. And you can also check out more of Byron's photos on his website: www.studio-br.com.

This excerpt from the feature-length film Mountain Town focuses on the charming and humble Aspen, Colorado, telemark phenomenon Nick Devore. Devore’s remarkable life story as a simple, if extraordinary, skier trying to make it all work fills the screen and the imaginations of sliders of all persuasions. When Devore begins his apprenticeship under Chris Davenport, who is attempting to ski all fifty-four 14,000-foot peaks in a calendar year, the descent of Capital Peak results.

Sliding Liberia is a surf film/social documentary that follows a group of young surfers to Liberia in search of more than perfect waves. As they travel through the West African country, devastated by decades of brutal civil war, they record the stories of people they meet along the way--people like Alfred, a young boy who became Liberia's first surfer after finding a bodyboard while fleeing from rebels. Besides rediscovering a world-class point break that could be the best-kept secret in the surfing world, the surfers find something much more important--a way to travel responsibly in the 21st century. Winner, People’s Choice Award, Surf Night, and Grand Prize, 2008 Alpinist Film Festival.

The Film adaptation to Joe Simpson's bestselling book and follow up to Touching the Void. The film follows Simpson to the perilous north face of the Eiger where the notorious and tragic story of Toni Kurtz's 1936 attempt unravels alongside Simpson's own horrifying experience in the Peruvian Andes. An unbelievable tale by one of the great storytellers of our day.